“另类”教育法

A truck driver was enjoying his meal at a local diner[餐车饭店] and happened to look towards the door when it opened. That was probably the only reason he ever paid attention to the old lady who came in. She was quite ordinary looking, a little bent, wisps[小束] of white hair had escaped from under her hat. She had good clean clothes, a bit old-fashioned[过时的] perhaps, but that was sort of expected from an old lady.

He bit into his hamburger and expected the lady to disappear into one of the booths[饭馆中的小隔间] quietly. But not this old lady.

There was the sound of running steps and the owner and all the servers hurried from behind the counter to meet the old lady.

“Mrs. Cosby!” They shouted, “How pleased we are to see you!”

The old lady smiled and greeted them all.

“Susan, Bob, Alyssa, Carmen… Good to see you all. How have you been? Life has been good to you?”

“Very good, indeed, Mrs. Cosby!” Bob, the owner said, “Now, let me take your coat.”

Very carefully he took the old ladys coat. The truck driver watched with interest. He had never seen a diner owner help anyone out of their coats before. And he had been driving across the country for quite a few years to say the least[退一步说].

“Ill bring you a little soup first. Then you can decide what you want to eat this time,” Alyssa smiled and returned to the kitchen.

“But first I shall tidy up your table!” Susan said.

This she did—she wiped the table clean and out of nowhere appeared a bright white, clean table cloth. Carmen seemed to pull a vase with a yellow rose from her pocket.

“Now you sit down and make yourself comfortable, Mrs. Cosby!” Bob helped her to sit down, “There…now, what would you like to drink? Water with a touch of [一点儿] lemon?”

When Bob passed his table, the truck driver could not resist[忍得住].

“Excuse me…”

“Yes? Would you like more coffee?” Bob asked.

“No, thank you, maybe later. I was just wondering…what is so special about the old lady over there?”

“Teacher attitude,” Bob smiled.

“Teacher attitude?” The truck driver did not believe his ears.

“Ill explain soon if you wait,” Bob said.

And out of sheer[纯粹的] curiosity[好奇心] the truck driver waited, watching in awe[敬畏] how the servers did everything in their power to make the old lady really enjoy her meal. And when she was finished, Bob refused to take any payment from her. He escorted[护送] her to the door and stood there, waving as long as it took for her to reach the corner and turn out of sight.

Then he turned, saw the truck driver and walked to him.

“Now, a story about teacher attitude and the importance of motivation[动力],” he said and sat down.

“Was this Mrs. Cosby your teacher then?”

“Yes, the best one. Though we probably did not make it very easy for her at first… You know how every school seems to have a class that everyone thinks will never graduate? Troublemakers, thats what we were.”

Bob smiled.

“None of our teachers stayed for long. And so, one morning, the door to the classroom opened and a new teacher walked in, yet again. Mrs. Cosby. We looked at her and gave her maybe a week. She looked too soft to ever handle[对付] us. And we sure gave her a hard time. But she never lost her temper, no matter what we did. And then came the last day of the first month she had been our teacher. That was the day she showed the teacher attitude she became so famous for.”

“Her teacher attitude? What was so special about her teacher attitude?”

“She opened her briefcase[公文包] and took out a bunch of papers. We feared the worst—a test. But oh no, it was something that totally surprised us.”

“Well what was it?” The truck driver asked.

“Mrs. Cosby asked each one of us to come to the front of the class, one by one, and gave us each a paper. On each paper she had written what the student in question had been good at during the last month.”

The truck driver looked at Bob, “She showed her teacher attitude by giving you a paper that told you what you were good at? Im sorry, I dont get it.”

“If you think about it, youll get it alright. You see, no one had ever believed in us. No one ever liked us. We were constantly[经常地] told how good-for-nothing[毫无价值的] we were. And we had started to believe it ourselves. The teacher attitude we had met with before didnt encourage us to believe in ourselves.

“And here, suddenly, was someone who had been observing us closely for a month. And a month when we made things as difficult for her as we could, mind you. And yet she could find something positive[积极的] to say about each and every one of us.

“Once she had delivered the papers, she continued with her teaching and for the first time we forgot to make her life miserable.”

Someone called Bob and he excused himself and left to serve a customer. After a while he returned and continued with his story.

“Mrs. Cosby did this every month from then on. Each month we got a paper that emphasized[强调] our strengths, what we had been good at. I thought no one would ever see anything good about me—I was lousy[讨厌的] at school. But she commented on[评价] my courage, how punctual[守时的] I was, how good to settle arguments if I so wanted. And you know what happens when someone keeps telling you what you are good at?”

The truck driver shook his head.

“Well, you begin to act as if that was true. You start to learn more to be even better, to prove them right.

“And so with her positive teacher attitude, she transformed[改变] our class. We did not want to hurt her feelings anymore. We actually started to study. Other students and teachers could not understand what had happened.

“And then came the day of our graduation. Yes, we actually graduated. Mrs. Cosby hugged each and every one of us, and told us with tears in her eyes how proud she was of us.

“‘My dear children,she said to us,‘I knew you could make it. I knew how good you were, but it seems you did not know it yourself. Too long you had listened and believed the words of others who thought you were hopeless[没有希望的]. And yet, here you are, and you have proved them wrong. This must be the proudest day of my life! ”

“Then she handed each one of us a book. All the encouraging letters through the years were there, in hard cover.

“‘I want you each to keep this book and if ever during your life you feel unworthy[无价值的], open this and read how good you are. You can be anything you want to be as long as you believe in yourself. Promise me youll remember that!”

Bob sighed.

“And we did. She turned a bunch of misfits[不适应环境的人] into people who could achieve great things—because now we believed in ourselves. We went on to fulfil our dreams. Mine was to own a diner and here I am, instead of ruining my life with alcohol and drugs—and I was already going that way when Mrs. Cosby appeared. So maybe now you understand why that old lady deserves all the respect we can give her.”

The truck driver nodded. Then he asked for his bill.

Bob went to get it and when he returned he saw the truck driver talking on his cell phone. Not wanting to disturb he stood at some distance.

“Honey? Hi, yes, it is me. You know, I thought I would drive home tonight. Yes, I know, it is a long way, but I can make it. You think you might make that special lasagna[烤宽面条] of yours for me? Yes, Id really like to have some. You know, you should sell that lasagna, it is so good, better than anyone elses! What? Why do I say so? Well because I think so. Just wanted to let you know you are the best lasagna cook I have ever met! You will? Great, see you in the evening! Love you too!”

Alyssa saw Bob smiling when he returned.

“Let me guess—another one for Mrs. Cosby?”

“Yep,” Bob laughed.

Alyssa smiled and gave Bob a little kiss on the cheek on her way to pour more coffee for a customer.

“You tell about Mrs. Cosby to everyone on purpose, I am sure.”

“Absolutely[绝对地]！That kind of teacher attitude deserves to be spread! And it works, every time. This truck driver just made his wife very happy by telling her what she was good at—making lasagna！Definitely one more point for Mrs. Cosby!”

一位卡车司机正在当地一家餐馆吃饭，碰巧看到店门打开了。那也许是他注意到那位走进来的老妇人的唯一原因。她长得非常平凡，有点驼背，几缕白发从她的帽子里露了出来；她的穿着干净整洁，也许款式有点旧，但一位老妇人也就是这模样了。

他啃着汉堡包，以为这位夫人会静静地进入某个包间。但她没有。

只听见一阵跑动的脚步声，店主和所有服务生都急忙走出柜台来迎接老妇人。

“考斯比夫人！”他们叫道，“真高兴见到您！”

老妇人微笑着和所有人一一打招呼。

“苏珊、鲍勃、艾莉莎、卡门……见到大家真高兴。你们最近怎样？过得还好吗？”

“非常好，真的，考斯比夫人！”餐馆老板鲍勃说，“让我帮您拿外套吧。”

他小心翼翼地接过老妇人的外套。这引起了卡车司机的兴趣。他从未见过哪个餐馆老板会帮客人拿外套的，而这些年他开着车跑遍了全国。

“我先给您上碗汤。您再决定这次吃些什么，”艾莉莎笑着说罢，便返回厨房。

“那我先给您收拾桌子！”苏珊说。

于是她开始收拾桌子——先把桌子擦干净，随后不知道从哪里变出了一张洁白干净的桌布。卡门似乎从口袋里拿出一个花瓶，瓶内还插着一支黄玫瑰。

“现在请您坐下，放松一下，考斯比夫人！”鲍勃扶着她坐下，“那……您想喝点什么？加了柠檬的水怎样？”

鲍勃经过卡车司机的桌子时，司机终于忍不住了。

“打扰一下……”

“什么事？您要加咖啡吗？”鲍勃问道。

“不，谢谢，也许等会儿。我只是想问问……那位老妇人有什么特别之处吗？”

“教师的态度，”鲍勃微笑着说。

“教师的态度？”卡车司机简直不敢相信自己的耳朵。

“假如您能等等的话，我待会儿给您解释，”鲍勃说。

完全是出于一种好奇心，卡车司机耐心等着。他讶异地看着服务生们使尽浑身解数让老妇人享受一顿愉快的大餐。她吃完后，鲍勃拒绝收她的钱，还护送她走出门口，站在那里与之挥手告别，直至她走到拐角处，消失在他的视线中。

他随后转身看向那位卡车司机，向他走来。

“这就给你讲一个关于教师的态度和激励的重要性的故事，”他一边说，一边坐了下来。 “这位考斯比夫人曾是你的老师？”

“是的，最好的一位。虽然最开始我们可没少给她添麻烦……你知道，每所学校似乎都有那么一个班，每个人都认为这个班的学生不可能毕业。麻烦制造者指的就是我们。”

鲍勃笑了笑。

“没有哪个老师可以在我们班待很久。因此，一天早晨，教室的门打开了，又一位新老师走了进来。她便是考斯比夫人。我们看着她，认为她也许只能坚持一周。她看起来太温和了，根本不可能管住我们。而且我们的确让她吃到了苦头。但不管我们做什么，她从不发火。然后到了她作为我们老师的第一个月的最后一天。就在这一天，她向我们展示了教师的态度，由此声名大噪。”

“教师的态度？她作为教师的态度有什么特别之处吗？”

“她打开公文包，从里面拿出了一叠纸。我们害怕是最糟糕的东西——考试。噢，不是，是让我们相当惊讶的东西。”

“是什么？”卡车司机问。

“考斯比夫人让我们每个人走到教室前面，一个接一个，然后给我们每个人发了一张纸。在那张纸上，她写下了该名学生这个月以来做得最好的事情。”

卡车司机看着鲍勃说：“她给你们每人发了一张写着你们哪里做得好的纸条，从而展示了她的教师态度？抱歉，我不是很明白。”

“如果你再仔细想想，你就会明白。你看，从来没有人相信我们、喜欢我们。我们经常被说成是没有价值的人。而我们自己也开始这样认为了。我们之前遇到的老师对我们的态度根本不会鼓励我们去相信自己。

“而现在，突然有那么一个人仔细观察了我们一个月。提醒你，在这个月里我们无所不用其极地为难她。但她还是发现了我们每一个人积极向上的一面。

“她发完纸条就继续上课，我们第一次忘了要让她受罪。”

有人叫鲍勃，他说了声“抱歉”，便去招待别的客人。过了一会儿，他回来继续说他的故事。

“从那以后，考斯比夫人每个月都会这么做。每个月我们都拿到一张纸，上面写着我们的优点——我们擅长的事情。我原以为没有人会看到我身上的优点——我在学校是个讨厌鬼。但她对我的勇气赞许有加，还说我非常守时，说只要我愿意，就能马上解决争端。假如有人一直对你说你擅长什么，你知道接下来会发生什么事吗？”

卡车司机摇头。

“喔，你就会开始那么做，就像那是真事一样。你开始努力学习，想变得更好，证明那是对的。

“就这样，她用积极的教师态度改变了我们班。我们再也不想伤她的心了。事实上，我们开始听讲学习。其他学生和老师都不明白发生了什么事情。

“然后到了我们毕业那天。是的，我们确实毕业了。考斯比夫人和我们每个人拥抱，并含着泪告诉我们她多么以我们为傲。

“‘我亲爱的孩子们，她对我们说，‘我知道你们能行。我以前就知道你们有多棒，但你们似乎并未意识到这一点。你们听信那些认为你们毫无希望的人的话太久了。但如今的你们证明了他们是错的。这是我一生中最自豪的一天！ ”

“然后她发给我们每人一本册子。这些年所有鼓励的信件都在里面，还是硬皮抄的。

“‘我希望你们留着这本册子，如果你们在日后的生活中觉得自己一无是处，打开它，看看自己有多棒。只要相信自己，你们可以成就任何梦想。答应我你们会记得这点！”

鲍勃叹了一声气。

“我们照她说的做。她让一帮不能融入社会的家伙取得了巨大的成就——因为现在我们相信自己。我们继续追求梦想。我想开一家餐馆，现在我做到了，而不是在酗酒吸毒中荒废人生——在考斯比夫人出现时，我本来已经走上那条邪路了。所以也许现在你会明白为何那位老妇人值得我们如此尊重。”

卡车司机点点头，打算结账。

鲍勃去拿账单，回来时发现卡车司机正在讲电话。为了不打扰他，鲍勃站在一边。

“亲爱的？嗨，是，是我。你知道，我想我今晚会开车回家。是，我知道，路程很长，但我可以做到。你可以给我做那道特别的烤宽面条吗？是，我很想吃。你知道，你应该去卖烤宽面条，它好吃极了，比其他人做的都好吃！什么？为什么我要这样说？哦，因为我就是这么认为的。只是想让你知道你是我见过的最棒的烤宽面条师傅！你会做？太好了，晚上见！我也爱你！”

艾莉莎看到鲍勃回来时脸上带着笑容。

“让我猜猜——又一个受考斯比夫人感染的人？”

“是的，”鲍勃笑着说。

艾莉莎微微笑了笑，在给客人加咖啡的途中在鲍勃的脸颊上轻轻吻了一下。

“我确信你给每个人讲考斯比夫人的故事是有目的的。”

“完全正确！那样的教师态度值得广泛传播！而且它每次都会奏效。这个卡车司机刚刚告诉妻子她的优点——擅长做烤宽面条，让他妻子很高兴！这确实又给考斯比夫人加了一分！”